Caster served in the U.S. Army National Guard for 11 years as an infantryman and sniper team leader/employment officer. He joined Entergy in 2002.

Why he joined the serviceI joined because I had wanted to since I was a child. My parents were friends with some Vietnam veterans, and I remembered listening to their stories when I was actually supposed to be in bed. I watched World War II movies with my father on Sundays, and there was just something enticing about doing something that would benefit everyone, not just me.

I’m not the only one in my family who has served. My family tree shows that my family has been involved in every war the United States has fought.

Currently, my oldest son is going to Mississippi State as part of the ROTC program. Prior to that, he joined the 19th Special Forces as an intel analyst.

The most challenging thing about being deployed The most challenging thing about being deployed was being away from my family. However, the most challenging thing about coming home was being away from my brothers-in-arms. I missed the comradery that we built while protecting and serving.

His proudest moment while serving In 2004 while in Iraq, my unit rescued a KBR contractor who was captured by a group of insurgents. Seeing his face when he realized he was safe and secure is hard to describe. It was a very happy moment, indeed.

Final thoughts We who serve now or previously served are always being thanked for our service. True service requires no thanks, as that's not why we did it. It’s nice to be appreciated for our sacrifices, but we would do all again…even if we knew we would never be thanked.